Chapter 5

TWO YEARS AGO

The first morning at the De Luca's mansion, I refused breakfast out of pride.

The second morning, I refused it out of anger.

By the third day, I refused it because I had already come too far to stop.

The tray sat untouched on the small table beside the window.

Today they brought Fresh fruit, toast, coffee.

Enough food to feed a family.

I stared at it until the smell turned my stomach.

Then I looked away.

The door opened a few minutes later.

The same maid entered, quiet like always

She never spoke, and never looked directly at me.

She simply collected the tray, of Untouched food.

If she found it strange that I hadn't eaten in three days, she didn't show it.

Then again, perhaps strange things happened every day in Lorenzo De Luca's house.

Perhaps girls sold by their fathers arrived often enough that no one bothered asking questions anymore.

The thought made something ugly twist inside my chest.

I turned away before the maid could see the tears gathering in my eyes.

Not that she would care, nobody cared, that was the worst part.

I thought this would get me a reaction from him, I had expected threats, maybe violence, or maybe he would burst through the door and demand obedience.

Instead, I got silence, and somehow silence was worse. It left too much room for thinking, for remembering.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my father signing those damn papers

Every time I drifted toward sleep, I heard his voice.

Two years, Isabella, I'll come back for you.

"Liar."

A bitter laugh escaped me. But the sound was swallowed by the enormous room.

Three days ago, I would have sworn my father loved me.

Three days ago, I would have defended him against anyone.

Now I knew exactly what my love had been worth.

A transaction, a price paid in flesh and blood.

My flesh, my blood.

The room suddenly felt too small.

Too quiet, and empty.

I climbed from the bed and began pacing.

From one end of the room, to the other, Again, and again

I reached the window for the hundredth time.

The glass overlooked manicured gardens and towering buildings. Beautiful, and unreachable.

My Freedom sat on the other side, mocking me.

My fingers curled into fists. Three days.

Three entire days, and Lorenzo hadn't come once.

Not once.

The man that had ordered me to strip in front of him, while he watched me stand there shaking with humiliation. And then... Nothing.

No demands, nothing.

What kind of sick game was he playing?

The sound of the door opening pulled me from my thoughts.

I turned sharply, only to find the maid stood behind me. But this time something was different.

She wasn't carrying a tray, and for the first time since I'd arrived...She spoke to me.

"The boss wants to see you."

Finally...... My pulse tightened before I could stop it.

I was escorted through long corridors that smelled of Luxury. Men passed us without stopping.The mansion was alive.

And I was the only thing inside it that felt paused.

We stopped in front of wooden door.

One of the men opened it and I stepped inside.

He was already there, behind a desk that looked too large for any normal man to use.

Papers spread neatly in front of him, the phone on the table vibrated but he ignored.

The two guards that escorted me was outside, and immediately I went in the door closed shut.

He didn’t look up immediately.

That was the first thing I noticed.

He signed a document, then turned a page.

Then Spoke without looking up.

“You stopped eating.” he didn't look concerned, if he did he has a strange way of showing it.

I swallowed.

“So?” I snapped at him.

That made him pause.

Only then did he look at me.

His eyes were cold but he didn't look angry.

“It won’t change anything.”

Something in me snapped at that.

“What am I supposed to do then?” I asked.

My voice came out sharper than I intended.

“Accept this?”

“Accept being traded like a commodity?”

He studied me for a long moment.

His gaze wasn't cruel, and it wasn't soft either.

“You think am the villain here?”

I looked at him confused, wondering what he actually wanted me to say. But before I could speak, he continued.

“Your father gave you away before I ever touched you.”

For a minute the room became blur

I wanted to reject his words immediately. To cling to hatred.To cling to him as the villain because that was simpler.

But my mind betrayed me.

Because I saw it again. And it was definitely not Lorenzo. But my father.

His hands are signing the documents.

His voice filled the air, the promise he made to me.

"Two years, I’ll come back for you."

And suddenly the anger I had been aiming at Lorenzo had nowhere clean to land.

I stepped back without realizing it.

Like the ground had shifted under me, and I hadn’t noticed until I was already falling slightly off center.

I turned toward the door. Yanked it open, I had to leave this room before I finally loose it.

Behind me, I heard one of the men speak quietly.

“She’s still here?”

Another answered with a faint laugh.

“Boss hasn’t decided what to do with her yet."

“Or maybe he already did.” they both chuckled.

I didn’t turn around, didn't bother to, because I was scared of what I would see.

They brought me back the same way to my room. I laid on the bed to rest my head and dozed off.

When I woke up the room was dark. But darkness wasn't my only concern, my throat was dry.

I sat up slowly, weak and thirsty.

I Walked to the door. hoping to ask one of the guards at the door for water. I gently knocked, but there was no response. After a few tries and no response.

I pulled the door and noticed it was open. I

I was surprised when I saw no guards in sight.

And for the first time since I had arrived in this house

I realized something I hadn’t considered before.

It wasn’t whether I could leave.

It was whether I had ever been meant to.

As I stood there, hand on the door, calculating my options, I knew it was now or never.